Gearing is a good idea. Yep will find an encoder to be easier than a pot in some ways. You could gear down from the wheel to the pot and have a normal linear pot. A single turn pot will make this easier than using an encoder to find "centre".
Then again, if you are using remote control, all you want to do is turn the wheel left or right varying amounts. You could have a simple "run motor left or right" (digital) and you will be part of the feedback loop, knowing when to stop or reverse the wheel. So Two buttons: turn left or right (to a stop so you don't over-run the motor) (auto return to centre would be a nice third button) and drop the pot/encoder